It’s rare for me to actually blog about a specific hero, especially one from the wondrous mythical world of comic books but I’ve always been a fan of the X-men. Having been created as a metaphor for the struggles of minorities both racial and religious towards civil rights and a counter to the racism, they were a bold new step in the world of comics. The terms “feared and despised by the world they swore to save” became the common theme of the X-men. All of X-men have died in the line of duty, sacrificing their lives for the dream of Professor Xavier that in many ways mirrors the famous words of Martin Luther King Jr. when he said “he had a dream”. Professor Xaviers dream was that mankind and mutantkind could someday find a way to coexist, to put aside their differences and work with one another for a better tomorrow. Most recently the X-men lost one of their most popular characters, that being Nightcrawler. It was his impact to the X-men and his astounding nobility both in the way he lived and the way he chose to die that moved me to write this blog.
Nightcrawler for those that are unaware of it, was born a mutant with a very bizarre, almost demonic appearance; fine blue-black fur covering his body, two fingers with an opposable thumb on each hand and only two toes, each longer than a normal human being's, on each foot and a third toe-like projection on his heel, as well as pronounced, fang-like canine teeth, yellow eyes, pointed ears, and a 3 1/2 foot long prehensile pointed tail which can support his weight. He also had the ability to teleport, wall crawl, shadow stealth, supernatural agility, and had an untapped but ongoing attunement to magic. He was also a superb fencer.
Perhaps the most intriguing facet of his character was that despite his demonic appearance he was a devout Catholic. When the X-men were implanted with the Brood eggs inside them Nightcrawler spent much to the time praying to God for salvation, even encouraging Wolverine to do the same. When Nightcrawler asked Wolverine, who is an Atheist who he believed in if not God, Wolverine responded by saying “I believe in you Elf”, this response being a microcosm of how all of the X-men drew faith and inspiration from Nightcrawler. At one point in the comic books Nightcrawler even attempted to leave the world of super heroics and become a Catholic priest. This caused a great stir amongst the established religious order and tested them in terms of tolerance. The scriptures said to accept those who come before God with humility and truth and yet many priests and members of the Catholic church found themselves unable to do so, too caught up in what Nightcrawler looked like to care for the noble soul that resided within him. There was also the famous storyline where at the height of anti-mutant sentiment the X-men, especially Wolverine, convinced Nightcrawler to dispense with the holographic projector he used to hide his appearance and walk down the street in his true form. Despite almost being attacked by a scared mob of humans I believe he did so nonetheless. It was this courage and his personal convictions and faith that made him perhaps the most noble and one of the most beloved X-men of all.
In a recent storyline Nightcrawler and Rogue found themselves protecting the young mutant girl called Hope, the supposed Messiah that will usher in the reignition of the mutant race. For those not following comic books, in a fit of madness Scarlet Witch unleashed a wave of reality alteration that shut down the mutant gene across the whole planet, perhaps even the whole universe. Despite this the mutant girl Hope was born, a birth so powerful that it caused the Cerebro mutant finder machine to explode. The mutant named Bishop however, who comes from the future, believes that Hope will lead to the decimation of the mutant race and has chosen to try and kill her. Currently there are less that 200 mutants alive on the planet and unless something it done the calculations say that the mutant race will reach the point of no return in 7 years. So one way or the other, Hope will be the doom or the rebirth of the mutant race. But back to the story..
As Rogue and Nightcrawler stood with Hope the evil human hybrid Sentinel Bastion appeared before the. Bastion is a combined organic merger of the techno virus, the sentinel Master Mold and the sentinel Nimrod from the future. He is perhaps the pinnacle mutant hunting and destroying being and a metaphor for the hatred and intolerance that a person can have against a race, religion, or even physical imperfection that would drive someone to a killer state. A fight occurred and even with Rogue absorbing the powers of at least 6 X-men and using them all at once against Bastion, he soundly defeated her. Then as he reached out to grab Hope a crush her in his hands Nightcrawler made the ultimate sacrifice – he teleported in the way and into Bastions are, thus impaling himself but protecting Hope. Then, in what I believe is one of the most heroic deaths in the history of the X-men he says something to the effect “Dear God, please give me the strength to teleport one last time” and is able to teleport with the little girl Hope to Utopia, the island of the X-men. It was there, on it’s cold rocky shores and with his dying breath that Nightcrawler looked up at Hope and said “I believe in you” and then died.
His death has been a major shock to the X-men. Nightcrawler was always sure if Hope was indeed the mutant Messiah but towards the end he held on to his faith because ultimately that was who he was at heart – a man of profound faith. Wolverine even went so far as to say that he respected Nightcrawler and loved him as family because Nightcrawler “always talked to me as a man and not an animal even if what he said wasn’t what I wanted to hear.” Wolverine then turned to Hope and said “you’d better be worth it.” Harsh words indeed but that is Wolverines nature, his way of expressing how deep his love and friendship with Nightcrawler was.
Pulling away from the comic book storyline but not the underlying theme behind Nightcrawlers passing, his death really had an impact on me. It’s been gnawing at me over the past few days since I found out about it. Nightcrawler held on to his faith when most others abandoned it. He loved a world that would sooner hunt him down as they did when he was born and burn him at the stake as a monster. He looked like a demon but was far more noble and compassionate than most normal humans. When the world feared and despised him, he met that antipathy with courage and love. He inspired others and built them upward to reach for something greater than themselves even as a world full of spite tried to tear him down pretty much every day of his life. Yes he was a cartoon character but cartoon world aside, how many of us can really say that we could be that noble? Most of us in life will never know when we will reach our curtain call so most of us might probably never have a choice to decide how we will leave this world. Nightcrawler knew that his final act of heroism would cost him his life. He knew that what he would be doing would take him away from his family and loved ones. He knew that he was saving the life of a girl who while many thought was the salvation of the mutant race there were some who thought that she would be its end. Despite all of this he acted without hesitation and made the ultimate sacrifice. He chose the way he would die and that was to die a heroes death in one final act of astounding bravery and nobility. True to the way he lived, he died the same way, uttering words of faith and telling a young girl hunted for the majority of her life by villains and monsters of all kinds that “he believed in her”.
Deaths in comic books are rarely final – many who have perished have somehow found there way back to the land of the living. That’s always been the way comic books work. For now however, I find myself thinking about the X-men and feeling a sense of emptiness within them. Nightcrawler was not just a mutant member of the team. In many ways he was their heart, the epitome of their faith in each other and in a dream that seems to be so far away from fruition but one worth fighting and in some cases dying for. For all his monstrous appearance he was anything but a monster – he was a noble man who stood for something even when the world around his screamed for his extermination. Again, taking this to the real world I just have to ask, could any of us ever be this strong?
So to all of you out there who fight the good fight and cast aside the barbs and darts thrown at you even as you carry forth your mission of helping better the world and the people in it gather strength from the character and man known as Nightcrawler. When people laugh at your appearance or look upon you with fear or suspicion do not be afraid to tell them who you are, what you stand for, and that you stand ready to offer them a helping hand when needed. It is an inherently human quality to fear or despise the things we do not understand or we ostracize the unusual or cast odd thoughts to the realm of “gibberish” but in doing both of these things I think we make the world a poorer place. We should all take a page from Nightcrawler, not only in the way he died but the way he lived. We should all strive to be so strong of faith, so resolute in our convictions, and always willing to heal wounded hearts and ease the suffering of those around us instead of taking every opportunity to hurt one another for some form of sick amusement of egomaniacal inclinations ( and yeah, you damn well know who I’m directing this last part to).
God bless you Nightcrawler and as Wolverine would say “we’re gonna miss you Elf.” You were in many ways perhaps the finest of them all. Rest in peace Kurt Wagner, dear friend because you have surely earned it.
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